Katy Manning
Catherine Ann Manning, known as Katy Manning, is an English actress best known for her portrayal of Jo Grant opposite Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor from 1971 to 1973. Early life Manning was born on 14th October 1946 to J.L. Manning, the famous sports columnist and Amy Manning (nee Jenkins) in Guildford, London. She had an older sister, Jane, who went on to become a fashion model in America. She spent her early years living in Dulwich Village, a borough of London. Manning had very poor eyesight when she was younger and was diagnosed with myopia (short sightedness). She had to wear enormous glasses when she was at school, and she recalls when she and her friends played a game at school: "none of the boys would kiss me because I was wearing glasses!". Manning became friends with Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland and socialised with stars such as James Mason and Noel Coward. Aged sixteen during the early 1960's, she dated actor Richard Eyre, and she and her friend Brian Gascoigne, brother of presenter Bamber Gascoigne drove up to Oxford to see him. Brian fell asleep at the wheel, the car had no seatbelts and the car careered over a roundabout and crashed into a garage. Manning was thrown through the windscreen and a plate glass window. Both Manning's legs were broken, her back was smashed and her face disfigured. She had to spend over a year recovering in hospital and had to have a skin graft on her face. Career Manning visited America in the mid 60's and was offered a five-year contract with MGM, although her father refused to let her do it. She returned to the UK and joined the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. During the mid-to-late sixties, Manning appeared as a model and took part in several adverts, one being for Clearasil. In 1970, she made her first television appearance as Peggy in the popular police drama Softly Softly: Task Force. ''Shortly after, she auditioned for the part of Jo Grant in ''Doctor Who, which she got. Manning played the hugely popular role for 3 years until she decided she wanted to move on to do other acting work. In the meantime, she appeared in Man at the Top as a cafe worker whom all the men fancy in 1971. After Doctor Who, she appeared as the first lesbian on television in Armchair Theatre in 1973 and starred alongside Joan Sims, Leslie Phillips and Brian Rix in the 1974 film Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! in which she played a mischievous hippy. She then featured in the sex comedy film Eskimo Nell ''in 1975 as the daughter of a 'lady of the manor' played by comedy legend Rosalind Knight. From 1973 to 1976, Manning performed as Louise in the Ray Cooney play ''Why Not Stay for Breakfast? opposite Derek Nimmo. Also in 1975, Manning appeared in an episode of the murder mystery drama Whodunnit? which her Doctor Who co-star Jon Pertwee presented. Manning played Miss Woods - the worried secretary of the man who was murdered (she wasn't guilty!). Manning then appeared in 1977 as a heroin addict (and appeared topless in one scene) in the gritty drama Target. In a bid to shake off her 'sweet girl next door' image that she gained in Doctor Who, Manning posed naked with a Dalek in 1978. Emigrating to Australia Manning gave birth to twins (a boy and a girl) in 1979 with her boyfriend, actor Dean Harris who left the scene shortly after. Due to her children being born very prematurely, they had to be put in incubators for several weeks after being born. Both children became severely ill, and on doctors advice so the children could recover in a warmer climate, Manning and her twins emigrated to Australia in 1982. Manning appeared in the Australian comedy film Melvin: Son of Alvin in 1984, and in the family adventure film Frog Dreaming (also known as The Quest and The Go-Kids) in 1985. She continued to appear on stage in Australia, and performed as Rita in Educating Rita at Sydney Opera House in 1986 and 1987. At unknown dates, Manning appeared in the TV series Roses for Me, Are You Making Money?, Private Wives and Don't Call Us. Nothing is known about these series like the year, Manning's roles etc.In 1992, Manning appeared in two episodes of the sci-fi/comedy series The Miraculous Mellops as a woman protesting to a dithering MP. In 1996, she performed as Elvira in Blithe Spirit at Sydney Opera House and as Dotty in Noises Off in 1998. In the late 1990's and early 2000's, Manning lent her voice to several cartoon films including D4: The Trojan Dog (1999), Easter in Bunnyland (2000) and Jungle Girl and the Lost Island of the Dinosaurs (2002). In 2001, Manning won several awards for her voice portrayl of Gloria, an eleven year old girl in the animated series Gloria's House which was broadcast from 2000 until 2001. In 2002, she appeared in the Australian medical drama All Saints in which she played the worried but loud and overbearing mother of a patient. In 2006, Manning appeared as Miss Harrington, a distraught landlady in the 1940's style horror film When Darkness Falls, a film for which she won Best Supporting Actress at Melbourne Film Festival and in 2007, she played Yvette Carte-Blanche in the stage version of the legendary sitcom 'Allo, 'Allo! ''alongside Gorden Kaye. Return to the UK In 2009, Manning moved back to the UK to live in London, the same year she toured with her own one woman play entitled ''Me and Jezebel, the story of Bette Davis in which Manning played all 25 roles. In 2010, Manning reprised her role of Jo Jones (nee Grant) in the Doctor Who spin off The Sarah Jane Adventures opposite former companion Elisabeth Sladen and incumbent Doctor, Matt Smith for two episodes. In 2011, she played cheeky lady Annie in the TV movie Three Score and When and voiced Oakie, a six month old puppy in the film Oakie's Outback Adventures. Manning appeared in a cameo role, alongside over a hundred other famous actors in the 2012 film Run for Your Wife. In 2013, she featured as bully and battle-axe Elsa who lives in a care home in the short film Journey Men. That same year, she appeared as a fictionalised version of herself in the D''octor Who'' comedy spoof The Five(ish) Doctors Reboo''t. In 2014, Manning appeared in the gangster/horror film ''Evil Never Dies as Susan Payne, the wife of a gangster. This role shows off Manning's superior acting talent as the 'mad' woman living in a sanitarium. She appeared in an episode of Casualty in 2015 as a patient named Marjorie Miller, an animal lover who is convinced that her dog is telling her that she is going to be ill. The doctors ignore her, but she demands to stay in hospital. She does, and she is treated just in time. In 2016, Manning lent her voice to the Star Wars rival, animated space opera series Prisoner Zero as a scientist called Professor Darrow for two episodes while in 2017, she appeared in the touching short film Memoria in which she starred as Lorraine, a mother crippled with dementia forgets that her husband has died. The final scene in which Manning's character breaks down at her husband's grave is deeply moving. In 2018, Manning appeared in the short film The Power of One Coin - a film tackling the subject of mental health, prompting another moving performance from Katy. Later that same year, she voiced two Doctor Who video games: The Orphans of the Polyoptra and The Lady of the Lake in which she voiced Jo Grant, the main villain and a Welsh woman named Delyth. In 2019, Manning appeared as Jo Grant in Hello Boys, a trailer advertising the Doctor Who Season 10 Blu-Ray box set. In March 2020, she is to appear as Maggie in the web TV Series Gentrification.